MONTPELIER - When Gov. Peter Shumlin and his top environmental official traveled to Paris last month for a summit on climate change, Vermont Republicans cried foul over what they considered a waste of taxpayer dollars.

"You owe it to Vermonters to itemize the cost of this trip and note who is paying," Republican Party Chairman David Sunderland wrote in a public letter to the governor in December.

The numbers are in: Vermont paid a total of $1,644.34 in travel expenses for the governor, aide Laura Gray and Natural Resources Secretary Deb Markowitz.

Airfare and hotel costs for Shumlin and Markowitz were covered, or expected to be reimbursed, by Georgetown Climate Center. The state paid for meals, a forum registration fee for Markowitz and some transportation, according to expense reports given to the Burlington Free Press through a public records request.

Shumlin participated in panel discussions in Paris and was among three governors who attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

“I am proud to join leaders from around the world who are serious about climate action and working towards regional, national, and global agreements that will curb the devastating effects of global warming,” Shumlin said in a statement in December.

Before traveling to Paris, the governor's last foreign trip was in October to Quebec for a trade mission, according to a spokesman.